Page 28 of Dance of Deception

I break completely, shattering with a sharp, strangled cry, my entire body wracked with too much sensation, pulsing, spiraling into something brutal and all-consuming.

I don’t know if I’m still fighting him or clinging to him.

But he does.

He knows exactly what he’s done to me. What he’s unlocked.

Suddenly, his fingers slide from between my legs. I wince at the sudden rush of rawness, mingled with a throbbing, achy need I’ve never felt before.

Slowly, he raises his hand between us, and my eyes lock onto the glistening wetness coating his fingers and the black and gold ring.

That hand reaches for me. I’m too stunned to move as he slips his fingers under the edge of my mask, and before I know what’s happening, the fingers that were just inside me are pushing against the softness of my lips.

“Clean them,” he growls quietly.

For the briefest half a second I hesitate, and don’t do as he says.

But then, wordlessly, Ido.

My lips part, and I shiver when he slides his wet fingers between them, pushing them deep over my tongue until I’m almost gagging. My lips close around them without being told to do so.

Heat pools in my core as my tongue licks them clean.

Then a low grunt comes from behind his mask as he slips his fingers from my lips and draws his hand away.

I nearly stumble, my legs weak, my body thrumming with all the confusion, rage and humiliation I don’t want to feel.

I lift my eyes to his—to the black holes where his eyes should be.

“Run away, little dancer,” he says, watching me like he’s analyzing every reaction, every crack in my armor. “You've got fire. I like that. But you still shouldn’t have seen what you saw tonight.”

“Then why let me go?” I croak, my voice trembling but defiant.

“Because chasing you was fun, and maybe I’d like to do it again.”

Then, without another word, he melts back into the shadows.

“Wait!” I yell suddenly. “How the hell do I get out!?” I shout into the empty silence.

A beat passes.

Then suddenly, everything goes dark. The torches all flicker out at once, plunging the maze into pure blackness.

Panic claws up my throat, but then new lights ignite, just a few, near the floor. A second later, I realize it’s a pathway, guiding me out.

I don’t hesitate.

Irun.

When I reach the end of the maze, a masked woman is waiting. She simply nods, then turns sharply. “This way.”

I follow on shaky legs, my mind still scrambled, my body still burning with the imprint of The Hound’s touch.

The dressing room is empty when we get back to it. Everyone’s gone, including Brooklyn.

I change quickly, my fingers clumsy as I strip off the gold costume and pull on my clothes.

The masked woman says nothing as she steps behind me, securing a blindfold over my eyes again.

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